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Team Singapore performance at Singapore Open bodes well for SEA Games

07 April, 2015
Kenneth Ho

Team Singapore athletes’ encouraging results at the 77th Singapore Open Track and Field Championships suggested that they were peaking in time for the 2015 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

Three national records fell during the event, with sprint queen Shanti Pereira involved in two of them.

The sprint specialist first broke her own 100m record, after running 11.80sec to surpass her previous national record of 11.89. Her feat met the SEA Games qualifying criteria for her event and earned her a Silver medal after Indonesia’s Tri Setyo Utami came in first place with 11.76.

Pereira was not done yet though, as she joined Eugenia Tan, Wendy Enn and Smriti Menon in the 4x100m relay and clocked 46.64sec to break the previous national record of 46.68 and earn a Silver medal.

The 18-year-old also nearly matched her 200m national record of 23.99sec - set in last year’s Asian Jr. Championship - as she clocked 24sec.

Shanti Pereira had a good showing at the Singapore Open and is looking forward to the SEA Games. (Photo by VoxSports)

“I’m really, really happy about my performances at this Singapore Open. I really did not expect to do such good timings, so I’m really excited to know that I’m in my top form right now and I’m looking forward to the upcoming SEA Games,” Pereira said on the last day of the meet.

The men’s 110m hurdles national record also fell during the Open, with Ang Chen Xiang running 14.44sec, just 0.01 ahead of the previous mark.

There were others who had already qualified for the upcoming SEA Games, but they still gave their all during the competition in order to assess their current state of readiness for the SEA Games.

Hannah Lee was one of them, as she threw a distance of 45.56 in the discus event to clinch Bronze.

Hannah Lee, Team Singapore athlete. (Photo by VoxSports)

While it was still some way off the national mark of 49.91, Lee’s efforts would have earned her a Silver medal at the 2013 SEA Games.

“I’m in the same environment that I’ll be at the SEA Games (in June), I’m competing against some of my closest competitors, and to spar each other, I would say it is a good experience.” Lee said after collecting her medal.

“Today’s Bronze medal has really given me the confidence to know that I’m going in the right direction that I can fight for a medal at the SEA Games.”